Young Mesothelioma Patient Joins National Campaign

A 17-year-old mesothelioma patient helps support others suffering from the disease.

A 17 year old mesothelioma patient is working to help others who suffer from the disease. As reported by Asbestos-News.org, the Britain teenager, who was the country’s youngest person to receive a mesothelioma diagnosis at the age of 13, will work with newspaper, The Daily Mirror, on a campaign that will help raise awareness about the fatal condition.

Asbestos exposure, the only known cause of mesothelioma, can lead to other serious health conditions as well for which there is no cure. Ellis’ case is an extremely unusual one because in most instances, mesothelioma symptoms remain dormant for up to 50 years before a diagnosis can be made.

Sophie Ellis is quoted as stating of her diagnosis, “Nobody has a clue where I got it from. We can’t think of a time when I would have come into direct contact with asbestos. It took a while for the doctors to diagnose because they just didn’t expect me to have it at such a young age. They said I was the first teenager in the UK to have developed it in the last 30 years.”

Ellis is further quoted as stating of the national campaign, “The cancer has made me braver in a way. It was pretty tough being diagnosed at such a young age and the surgery was really painful. I hope more can be done to understand this disease – that’s why I’m backing the Mirror’s campaign.”